The first opener for the night was not Black Condo as I first misheard and many others must have heard the same to lead the band to announce the correction in their myspace title, letting us know their real name is "Black Hondo."  The band took the stage dressed not all in black as their name might suggest, but they were attired mostly in black and dark colors.  Some of the more stand out members of the band were the guitarist who had musketeer style facial hair, namely a goatee with the twisted curly and pointy mustache.  The bassist was a tough sort of woman, wearing a leather vest and a hat that topped off a face that meant business, though she smiled enough later.  The drummer himself was not visually noteworthy but his crash looked like a big dog bit out a chunk of it.

The singer turned out to be the kind that plays no real instrument besides her own voice and the tambourine along with a shaker now and then.  This is okay when the singer is strong enough to show that they should not be distracted from what they do best.  In this case she mostly fit the mold and had a good 60's rocker style, not unlike Janis Joplin, though perhaps not as raw.  Just the same, her look seemed a little too put together for her emotional output.  Unfair and pointless criticism, but sometimes when what you see does not match what you hear there is friction.  

The second song included a harmonica performance by the singer that seemed off somehow. After this song they suddenly recalled they had CDs to give out and placed about a dozen or so home burned CDs on the front of the stage.  When no one moved to take any, another verbal cue pushed a few to take some discs, but afterward there were still a few left.  I could understand why, the performance was good, but nothing amazing yet.  It was on the fourth song that something interesting was played.

The next song was called "Downpour" which caused the singer to ironically take off her jacket.  After this they played a song which was, "...for all those big men out there."  This was another song that had a little more to it than the others that made it interesting.  This time specifically it was the a guitar riff.  The last song was called "Primp" which was their most upbeat song and seemed to put down girls who try too hard to make themselves pretty.  

Black Hondo did a solid set with mostly decent songs, but they fell into the trap many bands find themselves in.  This is finding their distinctive sound, but locking on so much that the sounds start to all sound the same.  This would please a few who love the particular niche the band digs into, but it would not hurt to mix it up in some way.  It is possible to stay true to themselves and do this, but we can appreciate their music now and hope for the best in the future.